Cushion skate wheel stop



April 3, 1962 s. w. HAYES cusHIoN SKATE WHEEL sToP Filed Nov. 13, 1953April 3 1952 s. w. HAYES 3,027,851

CUSHION SKATE WHEEL STOP Filed NOV. 13, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Apxlil 3,1962 s. w. HAYES 3,027,851

CUSHION SKATE WHEEL sToP Filed NOV. 13, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,f Y 0 @jf 2 2 56 .50

April 3, 1962 s. w. HAYES 3,027,851

CUSHION SKATE WHEEL sToP Filed NOV. 13, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 www /fzIHIIIIHII' April 3, 1962 s. w. HAYES 3,027,851

cusHIoN SKATE WHEEL sToP Filed Nov. 13, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 MHH W",mil

n g m @Hawley/A April 3, 1962 s. w. HAYES CUSHION SKATE WHEEL STOP 6Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed NOV. 13, 1955 QNN \%,\\\wm\ JW@ x N y@ f www .IMHW/@um mv?, \|UI\\N1 EN! NNMNNW wmw E im ld? l NN NNN ,wk Tl mi w w my@ WN@QN V ration of Indiana Filed Nov. 13, 1953, Ser. No. 391,881 1 Claim.(Cl. 10d- 260) The present invention relates to railway car stoppingapparatus and has for its primary object the provision of a new andimproved apparatus for effectively stopping a railway car as at the endof a track.

Various types of track end or other car stopping apparatus have beenprovided in the past. Among these are wheel stops which engage thewheels of a car and thereby stop the car. Another type of apparatus is abumping post which engages the coupling of the car and thereby stops thecar. The present invention relates to devices of the character whichengage the wheels ot' a car and stop it and especially to apparatus ofthis character in which the weight of the car is first utilized toretard its movement and, if this is not sufficient, in which the oar isstopped by additional stop means located on the track.

More particularly, the present invention relates to, and has for anobject the provision of, a new and improved car stopping means which isaptly defined as a cushion skate wheel stop. In accordance with theinvention, there is provided Ia rst component of apparatus which iscalled a skate. The skate has a wheel lifter end and a wheel abutmentend which are located some distance apart and between which extendsWheel supporting and guiding structure constituting, in effect, atrackway mounted upon the rail and operatively connecting the two endsto form a unit of construction. The skate is slidably mounted on top ofthe rail for movement therealong to a point determined by a cushionskate stop defining abutment and it is preferred that each installationincludes two devices, one on each rail. The skates are not only slidablymounted on the rail lbut are held in upright position thereon with somedegree of friction by means engaging the opposite undersides of the railhead and adjustable, both upon initial installation and at anysubsequent time, to determine the degree of friction with which theskate slides and to insure uniform action of the two skates. As aresult, when the car approaches the end of the track or whereverapparatus of the present invention may be installed, the car is firstlifted upon the skates. The weight of the car forces the skates downupon the track and a considerable resistance to their movement isprovided simply by the weight of the car. The car moves along the skatesuntil it reaches the wheel abutment ends, whereupon the further movementof the car is retarded by the aforesaid friction. Should this frictionbe not enough to stop the car within the limit of movement of theskates, the skates come up against stop dening abutments, whicheffectively stop the further movement of the car.

In accordance with the present invention, each skate is stopped in itsfurther movement by a cushion skate stop which efectively results inabsorption of the stopping irnpact in the ballast. This is effectivelyaccomplished by constructing the cushion skate stop with structureextending into the ballast so as to engage the ties.

It is accordingly a further object of the present invention to provide anew and improved cushion skate wheel stop including a skate movablyseated on top of the rail and having a wheel lifter end and an abutmentend connected by wheel receiving and supporting structure and including,also, a cushion stop for transmitting the nal impact of the stopping tothe track ballast.

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A further object of the present invention is to provide a cushion skatewheel stop in which the wheels and stop abutments are aligned centrallyof the rail head and the stop abutments on the cushion stop and skateare also located immediately above the rail head to minimize overturningmoments.

Further objects of the present invention are to provide a new andimproved skate for a cushion skate type of wheel stop and also toprovide a new and improved cushion stop for cooperation therewith, bothof which can be made and installed readily.

Further objects will become apparent from the following description ofan illustrative embodiment thereof, in the course of which reference ishad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an installation of two cushion skateWheel stops of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus shown inFIG. 1, the anchor bar shown in FiG. l being omitted;

FlG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the cushion skate stop againstwhich the skate abuts at the limit of its movement;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the cushion skate stop shown inFIG. 3;

FlG. 5 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line 6 6 ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal cross sectional View taken along the line 7-7 ofFlG. 6;

FlG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the cushion skate stop;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the wheel stopportion of the skate;

FlG. 10 is an enlarged side elevational view of the wheel stop portionof the skate, a portion of the cushion skate stop being shown in dottedlines;

FIG. l1 is a top plan view of the abutment end or rather wheel stop endof the skate;

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view thereof;

FlG. 13 is a vertical cross sectional view along the line 13-13 of FIG.10;

FIG. 14 is a horizontal cross sectional View along the line lli-14 ofFIG. l0;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view` FlG. 19 is avertical cross sectional view along the line 19-19 of FIG. 16;

FlG. 20 is a vertical cross sectional view along the line Ztl-2i) inFIG. 16;

FIG. 21 is a diagrammatic representation illustrating the approach of awheel to the cushion skate wheel stop and the wheel engaging the wheelstop on the skate; and

FlG. 22 is a diagrammatic representation of the conventional pair of carwheels of a truck upon the skate with the skate engaging the cushionskate stop at the end of its movement.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, 21 and 22, the cushionskate wheel stop of the present invention is illustrated as a whole bythe reference character 10. It will be observed that the illustratedinstallation includes two such stops; one for each rail, as shown onlyin FIG. 1. The rails are spaced apart the usual distance and indicatedby the reference character 12 and they are secured in usual manner uponthe cross ties 14..

anar/,ns1

Itis preferred that the apparatus be installed at a location Whereadjacent rails are secured to each other by a fish plate 16 or othertypes .of rail joint bars for reasons that will become apparenthereinafter.

The cushion skate wheel stop of the present invention includes a skateindicated by the reference character 20 slidably mounted on the top ofthe rail and a cushion skate stop 22 mounted upon the rail and soconstructed and arranged that the final shock or impact occurving whenthe skate strikes the cushion stop is transmitted to the rail ties andballast. The skate includes a front lifter portion indicated generallyby the reference character 24 and a rear car wheel engaging abutmentportion indicated generally by the reference character 26, the lifterand abutment portions being connected by a car wheel receiving andsupporting portion 28 of considerable length, such for example as aboutfour feet. The skate as a whole is slidably mounted on the top of therail by means including a front and rear guides 3Q and 32 engaging theopposite sides of the rail head and front and rear holding means 34 and36, respectively, comprising means hereinafter to be described forengaging the opposite undersides of the rail head for holding the skatecentered and vertical with respect to the rail.

The cushion skate stop 22 includes downwardly divergent brackets 4t)extending below the rail into the ballast and engaging a cross tiewhereby shock of impact' is transmitted to the rail ties and ballast. Itincludes, also, a skate abutment 42 which is located at the front end ofthe stop for engagement by the rear of the skate 2t? and rail headengaging holding means 44. If desired, and preferably, the force of theimpact may be distributed to several ties through the use of anchor bars45 secured to the ties, as shown only in connection with one device inFIG. 1.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of the construction of theapparatus, it may be advisable briei'iy to review the operation. Thiswill be done in connection with FIGS. 21 and 22. Normally, the apparatusof the present invention is installed near the end of the track. Thecushion skate stops 22, only one of which is shown in FIGS. 2l and 22,are mounted on the rail with the downwardly extending bracket 40engaging a railroad tie 14. The associated skate 2f) is located adjacentthe fish plate 16 in a position determined by the engagement of theholding means 34 with the plate, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 2l. As acarfwheel, s'uch as the wheel 47 illustrated rather diagrammatically,approaches the skate, it is lifted (and so is the wheel on the othertrack by the skate on the other track) by the lifter end 24 of theskate, the approach and lifting of the Wheel being indicated by the twodotted wheels. The wheel thereafter climbs the rest of the way up thelifter end and goes down the opposite side and rides on the wheelreceiving and supporting portion 28 until it hits the abutment 26 asshown by the solid line wheel. If the momentum is sufficient, the skateis moved along the track with the result that movement of the car wheeland car is retarded by the friction of the skate borne on top of therail and bearing a considerable portion of the weight of the car. If thefriction is not sufficient to stop the skate after some movement alongthe rail, the skate finally strikes the cushion skate stop22, asindicated in FIG. 22. If the car is traveling With considerablemomentum, the Wheel may climb up the inclined surface 70 first engagedby the wheel and then strike against the vertical abutment surface 72 asillustrated in FIG. 22. When the skate strikes the stop 22, the finalimpact isrtransmitted to the ballast by the divergent brackets 40 of theskate stop thereby effectively and efficiently finally to stop the car.

The various components of the apparatus of the present invention areconstructed in a novel manner as will now be brought out in connectionwith a detailed description of them. Consideration willbe given first'tothe.

cushion skate stop 22, and then the skate 20 with its wheel abutment 26and wheel lifter 24.

The cushion skate stop 22 is illustrated in and will be described inconnection with FiGS, 3 to 8, inclusive. From these, it will be notedthat the skate stop is of fabricated construction; that it is made up ofa number of parts which may be readily cut as from bar stock; and thatit can be readily assembled and secured, as by welding, to form a deviceof rugged construction that can be readily installed on a rail. The stopincludes the divergent downwardly extending brackets 40', the frontforwardly facing abutment 42 and the holding means 44. The abutment 42,which is that element of the stop actually engaged by the skate, ispreferably of generally trapezoidal configuration and locatedtransversely slightly above the top of the rail head, the head beingindicated by the reference 12H. The force of the impact is effectivelytransmitted from the abutment `42 to the brackets 4t) by a plate 46seated directly on top of the rail head.

The plate 46 extends somewhat beyond the sides of the rail head and itis provided With oppositely disposed openings 48 for the reception ofthe bolts 50 forming part of the stop holding means. The bolts areprovided with heads 52 having beveled inner and upper portions 53engaging the inclined undersides of the rail head 12H as bestillustrated in FIG. 6. The bolts, it should be noted, are located quiteclose to the sides of the rail head so that they, with the beveled headsare effective to center the stop and to hold it in an upright position.The bolts are drawn up rather tightly by the nuts 54 located on theupper side of the plate 46, but the bolts are not drawn up so tightly asto prevent sliding movement o-f the stop. As a matter of fact, it isessential for the purposes of the present invention that the stop bepermitted to slide so that the impact from the skate is transmitted tothe ties and ballast thereby to provide the cushion stop.

In order to prevent undesired movement of and binding by the holdingbolts 50, the latter are mounted in retainers 56 dimensioned ratherclosely to receive the bolt heads 52. The retainers 56 may beconstructed from channel elements and they are located with their opensides facing toward the rail. These channel elements thus maintain thebolts in substantially a vertical and non-binding position even when thestop is subjected to considerable impact.

The force of the stopping impact is additionally transmitted to thedivergent brackets 40 by a vertical rearwardly extending bar 62 thefront end of which abuts the rear face of the abutment 42 and the rearend of which is secured to the side brackets 40. The brackets include afront element 60, a rear element 64 and a side bar 66, these threeelements being welded to form a rather channel like structure. It shouldbe noted that the lower end of side bar 66 is cut at a diagonal and theelement 60 is bent to conform to it, thereby to give the `lower end aconverging shape to facilitate installation of the stop on the track.The side brackets are welded to the horizontal bar 46 and to thevertical bar 62 and also to a narrow rear plate 68 also seated directlyon the top of the rail head and the front end of which abuts against thebar 46. In order to provide additional strength in a simple manner,generally triangular braces 69 are welded between plate 62 and thedownwardly extending and divergent bars 60 and 64 of the side brackets40. The various parts of the apparatus may readily be secured togetherto form a unitary, rigid and efiicient skate stop. For the most part,the welding is indicated by the welding fillets which have been drawn inand which, therefore, are not described in detail.

The skate 20 will now 4be described and attention will be given alsofirst to the wheel abutment 26 which is best illustrated in FIGS. 9 to14, inclusive, to which reference will now be had. As earlier indicated,the wheel abutment 26 includes the-inclined and vertically disposedwheelabutment surfaces 70 and 72, of which the latter is above the former.These are formed by the front e-dge of a plate 74 secured as by weldingimmediately to the rear of the wheel supporting bar 28. The plate 74 ismounted in vertical position and seats not only upon the bar 28 butprimarily upon a short bar or plate 76 having a width substantiallyequal to that of the rail head (see FIG. 9) and upon the transverselyextending bar 73 which is adjacent bar 76 and extends somewhat beyondthe sides of the rail head and which is provided with the apertures 80(see FIG. l3)`for the reception of the bolts 82 having heads 84, withbeveled portions 85 engaging the undersides of the rail head, and whichform part of the holding means 36, which, it should be noted, is locatedunderneath the inclined abutment surface 70, where they most elfectivelycooperate with the stop in preventing overturning and the application oflifting components to the bar 28. The bolts are held in place by thenuts 86 and retainers S7, the nuts preferably being tightened onlyenough so that the skate slides relatively freely along the top of therail. In some installations the nuts may be drawn tight and thenloosened from about one-sixth to one-half turn. Installation on goodtrack gives the best results and the adjustment should be such that thetwo skates have uniform movement, thereby to avoid skewing of the wheeltrucks and possible derailment. This can be done with the presentapparatus both upon initial installation and at any subsequent time.While sliding occurs, the skate is quite iirmly held. The holding means36 is also located in a vertical and centrally aligned position on thetrack. n

As earlier indicated, the wheel abutment end of the skate is also guidedin its movement along the rail by the guide means 32. These are rightangled in form, as best illustrated in FIG. 9, and welded to the outersides of the plate 76 as well as to a somewhat wider (than the plate 74)strengthening and abutment member $8 welded to the rear of the abutmentan-d the lower rearwardly facing vertical end 90 of which abuts againstthe skate stop 22, as illustrated in FIG. 22 and in phantom in FIG. 10.

The holding means 36 is strengthened by the generally triangular frontand rear braces 92 and 94, see particularly FIGS. 9 and l0. The formerare notched at 96 so as to iit around part of the bar 28 and the frontlower end of the abutment 74 is also notched at 98 to lit around part ofthe bar 23. As a result, the latter is securely and effectivelyconnected to the wheel abutment.

The lifter 24 will now be described in detail in connection with FIGS. lto 20, inclusive. As heretofore indicated, the lifter is secured to thefront end of the bar 28 and in a manner best illustrated in FIGS. l5 and17. It includes the front guide 30 and the centering and holding means34. The lifter includes also a main bar 100, a transversely mounted bar102 abutting a-gainst the rear of the bar 100 and a shorter bar 104abutting against the rear of the bar 102 and the front end of the bar28. All these bars are seated on top of the rail and secured to theupper sides of all is a generally triangular lifter plate or bar 106 ontop of which is supported a trackway defining bar S, a rear portion 110of which is bent downwardly to abut against the front of bar 28 andwhich is welded to it and to the bar 104. The front end of the bar 108,which is indicated by reference character 112, abuts, as does the frontend of the bar 100, against a toe defining element 114 which is taperedto facilitate the entry and gradual lifting of a wheel up to the highestpoint 116 of the track lifter. Additional support and inter-connectionbetween the bar 28 and the lifter is provided by a brace plate 118secured to the bent down rear portion 110 of the trackway 10S and to theupper surface of bar 28.

The guides 30 are secured to the sides of the bar 100 in much the samefashion as the guides 32 are secured to the bar 76.

The holding means 34 includes the bolts 120 passing through apertures122 in the plate 102. The bolts are provided with heads 124 havingbeveled portions engaging the underside of the rail head. The bolts aresecured in place by the nuts 126 and are retained against undesiredmovement by the channel shaped retainers 128, see particularly FIG. 19.The nuts are tightened in the same manner as nuts S6, as alreadydescribed.

The holding means is braced by the generally triangular braces 130 and132 abutting against the rear and front edges of the bar 102. They arenotched to t around the upper parts of the bars 100 and 104,respectively.

The operation of 4the apparatus las a whole will now be described inconnection with FIGS. l, 2, 2l and 22, particularly the latter. Aspreviously indicated, the cushion skate wheel stops 10 of the presentinvention are installed at some desired location as at the end of thetrack and at a place where the fish plates 16 are located opposite eachother. The cushion skate stops 22 are located at a desired distance fromthe plates 16. This `distance may be, for example, in a neighborhood ofabout 35 feet. Initially, the skates 20 are located adjacent the plates16 and at positions determined by engagement of the holding means 34with the plates. The holding means 34 and 36 are adjusted as previouslydescribed to hold the skate rather firmly and so that the two skatesmove uniformly under car impact. It should be noted that the adjustableholding and guiding means enables the apparatus to be installed onvarious sizes of rails, that illustrated being adapted for installationon rails Varying in height from iive to seven inches.

The approach of a wheel 47 relative to one of the stops is illustratedin FIG. 2l. The description will be given in connection with one wheelbut it should be understood that what occurs with one wheel occurs alsowith respect to the wheel on the other track.

AS the wheel approaches the skate, it first strikes the toe 114 of thelifter 24. It rises along the trackway 108 until it reaches the apex 116following which it falls down onto the wheel receiving and supportingbar 28. Thereafter, the wheel rides along the bar 28 until it strikesthe wheel abutment 26. The wheel initially strikes the abutment 70 butif the momentum is lgreat enough the wheel may climb up along the latteruntil it strikes the vertical abutment 72. Thereafter, the wheel willnot climb any more.

The location of the holding means 36 below the inclined abutment 70insures that a minimum lifting force is transmitted to bar 28 uponimpact. The inclined abutment serves to minimize overturning momentsupon initial car wheel impact and the weight of a car wheel climbing upit is also utilized. The holding means 36 prevents transmission of theoverturning moment or lifting force to the bar, with the result that theconstruction as a whole tends to prevent rupture of bar 28. As a result,the latter need not be unduly heavy.

The skate 20 is moved along the track under the momentum of the carwheel and car and the movement of the car is retarded by the friction ofthe skate sliding along the top of the rail. The skate is kept in itsvertical position and prevented from moving laterally and from tipping-by the action of the guiding and holding means heretofore described indetail. If the car is not stopped by the friction, the skate iinally ismoved into engagement with the skate stop 22. In some installations, itis but rarely that the stop is engaged. At this time, the vertical endportion of the abutment strikes the stop element 42. These engagingportions are immediately above the track and aligned with longitudinallyextending portions of both the skate and stop, thereby to provide arugged rigid structure operating with a minimum of overturning moments.The stop 22 transmits the force of the impact through the previouslydescribed structure to the divergent side brackets 40 and the latter'inturn provide the cushion stop by transmitting the force of the impact to.the ties 'and ballast. In this connection, it should be noted that thestop 22 is slidable along the rail acer/,sel

but kept in vertical position and prevented from tipping by the guidingand holding action of the holding means 44. Also, the wheel may move upstop portion 70 to portion 72, after which it will vnot rise further.This is the position in which the `car wheel is shown in FIG. 22. A-tthis time the other wheel of a truck is on the lifter portion 24.

When the car is moved back along the track, the wheel moves along thebar 28 and finally strikes the rear part of the lifter. The location ofthe wheel relative to the rear part of the lifter at this time is bestillustrated in FIG. 16 and it will be seen that this relationship issuch that the skate will be drawn rearwardly along the top of the railby the wheel which rests against the apex 116 and the bar 28. The skate20 is thus retracted back to its original position as determined by theplate 16 against which the holding means strikes.

Another advantage of the apparatus of the presen-t invention is that itcan be made economically and it can also be easily installed because ofwhat might be called a straddling type of construction and one notrequiring7 any drilling of the rails.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be noted that thepresent invention provides an eective yand economical cushion skatewheel stop which can readily be fabricated from bar stock, primarily.While the invention has been described in connection with the details ofa particular embodiment, it should be understood that these details arenot intended to be limitative of the invention except insofar as setforth in the accompanying claim.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

A cushion skate stop adapted to be installed on a rail for engagement bya slidably mounted car wheel engaging and supporting skate, including incombination, a longitudinally extending bar, means including a pair ofhorizontal supporting elements for mounting said bar above the lhead ofa rail, one of said elements extending transversely of the rail beyondthe rail head and having its front end aligned with the front end ofsaid bar, a transversely extending generally vertically located skatestop abutment secured to the front ends of said bar and said oneelement, the second of said elements having a width substantially equaltto that of the rail head and having its front end abutting against therear of said one element, said second element being secured to said oneelement and said bar, guiding and holding means including boltsextending downwardly through the end portions of said one element tobelow the rail head and having beveled portions engaging the undersidesof the rail head at opposite sides of the rail, and a pair of divergentbrackets having lengths such as to extend into the road bed at oppositesides of the rail secured to opposite sides of said bar and secondelement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,334,896 English Mar. 23, 1920 1,369,910 Whilt Mar. 1, 1921 1,385,528Duiy July 26, 1921 1,407,396 English Feb. 21, 1922 1,544,369 BreyleyJune 30, 1925 1,575,411 Breyley Mar. 2, 1926 1,864,539 Hayes Iune 28,1932 2,441,193 Hayes May 11, 1948V

